When members of the accounting and return-preparer professions find themselves or their firm in trouble, they turn to Anderson & Jahde for help. Our dual licensed attorney-CPA's have practiced in the accounting profession and understand it. Anderson & Jahde defends accountant malpractice claims, Board of Accountancy complaints, IRS Office of Professional Responsibility complaints and AICPA complaints; and consults in the sale of accounting practices, disputes surrounding firm breakups and other firm business matters.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
U.S. Supreme Court
On January 17, 2012, attorneys from Anderson & Jahde were honored to attend oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court in Home Concrete v. Commissioner - a significant case for both IRS and taxpayers. In cases involving the same issues as Home Concrete, Anderson & Jahde obtained victories for its clients in the U.S. Tax Court, which were appealed to the D.C. Circuit and ultimately the Supreme Court to be considered together with Home Concrete. Among other issues, the IRS is asking the Supreme Court to change its prior interpretation of almost identical language in IRC § 6501 (Colony decision), and determine contrary to Colony that an overstatement of basis in property constitutes an understatement of gross income availing the IRS of the enlarged six-year statute of limitations on assessments. The taxpayer and the U.S. each had a half hour to present their arguments. The U.S. argued that the plain language of the Internal Revenue Code favors utilizing the six-year period, the Court’s prior opinion in Colony should not apply, and that a Treasury regulation, promulgated while Home Concrete and other cases were pending, should be allowed to retroactively clarify an ambiguity in the statute. The taxpayer argued that the Supreme Court’s prior holding in Colony controls, and, as such, the IRS’s “clarification” as set forth in the promulgated regulation is an attempt to overturn established law. Whatever the Court decides, it will have significant future impact for many taxpayers, especially those reporting both real and personal property transactions on their tax returns.
Wandry v. Commissioner
In 2012, Anderson & Jahde had the distinct privilege of winning a case, the significance of which has been heralded as one of the most important cases in the estate planning area. In Wandry v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2012-88, the Tax Court held that gifts of a fixed dollar amount of interests in an LLC were a transfer of a fixed set of rights with an uncertain value, rather than as the government alleged, a transfer of a specific number of units in an LLC the value of which exceeded federal gift tax exclusions. Previous cases upholding defined value clauses involved remainder interests to charities. In upholding the taxpayers' defined value clause in Wandry, the Court stated, "It is inconsequential that the adjustment clause reallocates membership unites [in the LLC] among petitioners and the donees rather than a charitable organization..."
Wandry helps to clarify how to structure gifts of limited liability company interests utilizing the lifetime unified credit and annual gift tax exclusion.
When you are looking for a tax attorney in Colorado, call (303) 782-0003 to speak with a professional Denver tax lawyer from the tax law firm of Anderson and Jahde, P.C. The Denver tax lawyers in our law firm have extensive experience handling civil and criminal tax disputes and trials in the State of Colorado and elsewhere. We will provide you with quality representation and promise to fight to protect your rights and interests.